I think its overreacting in general. Fortunately he didn't realize that by saving his urine he could start making ammonium nitrate and a 55 gallon drum of the same could have leveled the apartment where he was doing his experiments. I sarcastically suggested once that portable toilets should be outlawed as they can collect huge amounts of bomb pre-cursor materials in a very short amount of time at a Rolling Stones concert.
The crusade however may be futile. The fear of the stupid is motivating the ignorant to bind the hands of the curious.
"...by saving his urine he could start making ammonium nitrate and a 55 gallon drum of the same could have leveled the apartment..."
It would take years to accumulate a 55 gallon drum of ammonium nitrate in such a manner. The techniques you refer to by which nitrates are separated from dung and urine are messy, tedious, smelly and grossly inefficient by today's standards. The neighbors would not put up with it.
As for the portable toilets, methane gas is a more pertinent concern:
Did you see that picture of his kitchen? :-) I think his neighbors were either very tolerant or in that class of 'everyone in this building sticks to their own business and we like it that way.' kind of place.
Loved the link to the methane risk though, reminded me of the poor concert goers that tried to light up a joint under a shared poncho on the grass at Shoreline Ampitheatre before they added piping. Fortunately none of their close were flammable.
The crusade however may be futile. The fear of the stupid is motivating the ignorant to bind the hands of the curious.